On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment

On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment is the fifth studio album, and sixth album overall, by American jazz trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire.[11] The album was released on June 5, 2020 (2020-06-05) by Blue Note Records.[3] It was Akinmusire's fifth release on the Blue Note label.

On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment
Studio album by
Ambrose Akinmusire
ReleasedJune 5, 2020 (2020-06-05)
StudioBrooklyn Recording Studio
GenreJazz, Avant-garde
Length48:06
LabelBlue Note B002866202
ProducerAmbrose Akinmusire
Ambrose Akinmusire chronology
Origami Harvest
(2018)		 On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment
(2020)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz[1]
AllMusic[2]
Financial Times[3]
Jazz TrailA[4]
Jazzwise[5]
Le Devoir[6]
Pitchfork7.8/10[7]
PopMatters8/10[8]
Tom HullB+[9]
Winnipeg Free Press[10]

Background

The album title refers to a trip that Akinmusire took to his hometown of Oakland, California in 2016, during which he witnessed the changes caused by gentrification. The local population substantially changed due to the expansion of Silicon Valley, and long-term, often impoverished residents were driven out of the city.[2] He himself grew up in a culturally rich community that now has turned into an unrecognizable place for him, an emergency that hit many black communities in big cities. Akinmusire says, "In a way, I was thinking about this as a sequel to my first record. I'm returning to the landmarks in my first album."[12] The album contains eleven compositions by Akinmusire, which he recorded with his quartet consisting of pianist Sam Harris, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Justin Brown. The album also features guest vocalists Genevieve Artadi and Jesus Diaz.

Reception

Thom Jurek in his review for AllMusic wrote, "While this outing is no less brimming with creative and provocative ideas for jazz by Akinmusire, it is perhaps, his most emotionally searing and satisfying studio outing."[2]

Will Layman of PopMatters stated, "Akinmusire seems particularly mature as an artist and particularly within the "jazz" tradition because his work, daring and modern and moving easily across boundaries, is still grounded in some of the core jazz values. Those are the primacy of blues playing, the vitality of distinctive and individual sound, and healthy and creative engagement within the popular music of the time, and engagement with his culture, socially politically. He is individual enough to evade facile comparisons to his predecessors."[13]

Steve Futterman of The New Yorker commented, "The trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire insures that the joys and the anxieties of current African-American life stay at the forefront of his aesthetic through written statements and spoken-word collaborations. But he doesn’t always need words. On his new album, “on the tender spot of every calloused moment,” the short, reflective track “reset (quiet victories & celebrated defeats)” speaks Akinmusire’s heart and mind in the anguished intensity of his horn, recalling the great Booker Little, one of Akinmusire’s stated influences."[14]

Jazzwise included On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment in its list of the best new jazz albums, stating "Ambrose Akinmusire’s fifth studio album finds the 38 year-old trumpeter in as reflective a mode as ever, asking questions about black identity and avoiding clichéd pathways just as he opts for musical roads less travelled."[15]

Jazziz Magazine included the album in its list of "10 Albums You Need to Know: June 2020", commenting that the album "asserts Ambrose Akinmusire as one of the top trumpeters in the world and affirms his talents as a composer via eleven originals, which present a contemporary and compelling blend of modern jazz that powerfully aims to dissect the complexity of black life in America."[16]

Accolades
Accolades for On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
NPR The 50 Best Albums of 2020
19
[17]
Jazzwise Top 20 Jazz Albums of 2020
8
[18]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ambrose Akinmusire except track 3 written by Ambrose Akinmusire and Genevieve Artadi.

No.TitleLength
1."Tide of Hyacinth"8:19
2."Yessss"5:44
3."Cynical Sideliners"2:21
4."Mr. Roscoe (Consider the Simultaneous)"5:57
5."An Interlude (That Get' More Intense)"6:38
6."Reset (Quiet Victories & Celebrated Defeats)"3:25
7."Moon (The Return Amplifies the Unity)"3:44
8."4623"0:31
9."Roy"2:40
10."Blues (We Measure the Heart with a Fist)"5:29
11."Hooded Procession (Read the Names Outloud)"3:18
Total length:48:06

Personnel
  • Ambrose Akinmusire – trumpet, fender rhodes
  • Harish Raghavan – bass
  • Justin Brown – drums
  • Sam Harris – piano
  • Jesús Diaz - vocals (track 1)
  • Genevieve Artadi - vocals (track 3)

References
  1. May, Chris (July 15, 2020). "Ambrose Akinmusire: On The Tender Spot Of Every Calloused Moment album review @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  2. Jurek, Thom (2020). "On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment - Ambrose Akinmusire | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  3. Hobart, Mike (5 June 2020). "Ambrose Akinmusire: On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment — emotionally rich". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  4. "Ambrose Akinmusire – On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment". Jazz Trail. jazztrail.net. July 9, 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  5. Le Gendre, Kevin (2020). "AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE: ON THE TENDER SPOT OF EVERY CALLOUSED MOMENT". Jazzwise. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  6. Bourgault-Côté, Guillaume (20 September 2020). "On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment, Ambrose Akinmusire". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  7. Arroyo, Steven (18 June 2020). "Ambrose Akinmusire: on the tender spot of every calloused moment". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  8. Layman, Will (16 June 2020). "Ambrose Akinmusire Muses 'on the tender spot of every calloused moment'". PopMatters. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  9. "Tom Hull: Grade List: Ambrose Akinmusire". Tom Hull. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  10. Black, Keith (6 June 2020). "Reviews of this week's CD releases". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  11. Whitehead, Kevin (July 13, 2020). "Trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire Mixes The Playful And Solemn On A New Album". NPR. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  12. Hynes, Jim (June 3, 2020). "AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE RETURNS TO BLUESY TONES OF DEBUT VIA 'ON THE TENDER SPOT OF EVERY CALLOUSED MOMENT' (ALBUM REVIEW)". Glide Magazine. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  13. Layman, Will (16 June 2020). "Ambrose Akinmusire Muses 'on the tender spot of every calloused moment'". PopMatters. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  14. Futterman, Steve (2020). "Ambrose Akinmusire On The Tender Spot". The New Yorker. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  15. Le Gendre, Kevin (June 19, 2020). "The best new jazz albums: Editor's Choice, July 2020". Jazzwise. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  16. Micucci, Matt (4 June 2020). "10 Albums You Need to Know: June 2020". JAZZIZ Magazine. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  17. "The Best Albums of 2020". NPR. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  18. Newey, Jon (27 November 2020). "Top 20 Jazz Albums of 2020". Jazzwise. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
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